Last week Dr. Rod Hochman, American Hospital Association (AHA) Chair, friend, and fellow rheumatologist/immunologist, during an informative call with former AHA Board members and leaders, named six major trends for the next decade. Although very unwelcome, COVID-19’s overall noxious effect on the world has highlighted and accelerated these anticipated developments:
- COVID-19 is now better controlled, with broader acceptance of mask wearing, physical distancing, and vaccine administration. Currently, in America over 50 million people have had at least one dose of vaccine, with over 50% of folks over 65 years old included in this group. Vaccination frustration should begin to abate as manufacturing catches up with demand and distribution. Annual vaccinations might become a reality.
- Financial chaos continues, with the most vulnerable sadly becoming even more disadvantaged. COVID has accentuated the difference between winner and losers. Tens of millions lost their jobs, most of whom were already financially insecure. Yet, people starting out with an income greater than $100,000 per year reported an improvement in mental and physical health, personal finances, job security, personal life, and work-life balance. Dr. Sandro Galea, Dean of the Boston University School of Public Health, shared this disparity, which also parallels educational level in an engaging weekly newsletter, “How to get healthier and wealthier during a pandemic.”
- Inequities and inequality have become top-of-mind. Although always present but generally ignored because our nation has long been in denial, the tipping point was reached. The current momentum to get past just admiring the challenge to concretely addressing and correcting multigenerational disparities is an opportunity. “Pandemics Cubed: Social Injustice and Chronic Disease Amplify COVID-19’s Virulence,” shared last July by me, captures the need to tackle the social determinants of health to accelerate change.
- Climate change is now readily identified by extremes—flooding, freezing, fires, and drought—across the nation. Potential health effects of global climatic and environmental changes, an article written thirty years ago in the New England Journal of Medicine by Massachusetts General Hospital Chief of Medicine Dr. Alexander Leaf, is even more relevant today.
- Political instability, wildly highlighted lately by dangerous and illegal behaviors, does not solve problems but rather contributes to worse outcomes for all. Creating dialogue, disagreeing agreeably, and getting to “yes” will help everyone’s overall life experiences. The “echo chambers” facilitated by ubiquitous media availability should be harnessed to address solutions for common issues. Uniting synergy and cooperation is a better approach than creating an adversarial zero-sum game with winners and losers. We do not need to emulate a “Hunger Games” mentality.
- Cyber-security is a complication of the digital age because the advantages of technology come with the risks of misuse. Technology harnessed and protected for the good of society is an advantage not to be hijacked by nefarious entities, ranging from loss of privacy to perpetration of crimes.
Sharing best practices, staying informed, and remaining altruistic are all characteristics important for a well-functioning, though currently stressed, society. As the current pandemic wanes, learnings gleaned and ambitions postponed can now move forward to create a better, more resilient humanity for everyone’s benefit.
